First off, Nicaragua is a beautiful country! I highly recommend visiting if you ever have the chance. We had the privilege of spending our second month at the Adventures in Missions base in Granada as a whole squad. Located at the base of a dormant volcano, the REAP farm was one of the most beautiful places we had visited yet. The seventy acres of land and the amazing people and facilities welcomed us with open arms.
But our time in Nicaragua did not turn out the way I planned. Our host, Scott, wanted this to be a time of being renewal and being filled up, teaching us what it meant to be filled by Christ and not work on our own strength. He dedicated time to disciple us when we felt that we were there to serve him. Waking up at 5 am to pray and spend time in the Word, for example, instead of work was a weird concept when you expect to do ministry. God has a funny way of switching it up on you and grabbing your attention. But that’s for later.
I promise we did work, a lot. We had different ministries across the farm and the city. These included ripping up plantane trees (literally my favorite job), house and nursing home visits, feeding workers at the dump, and random tasks needed of our host.
We went from two hours of scheduled ministry in Honduras to a full days schedule 5 days a week. Spending long afternoons working on the farm was one of my favorite activities and I actually got a job offer to come back after the race… yes I am thinking about it.
But my time in ministry did not last long. The third day there, me and my team were to sent into town to help a local pastor physically expand his church by digging support column holes for the foundation.
The first in a long line of holes dug on the race.
Everything was going well, our team was working like a well oiled machine and moving on schedule. As we began to dig the actual holes, I was on rebar duty. What they referred to as rebar was a long hollow steel bar filled with concrete with a flat, pointed end used to break up the hard, volcanic dirt. While using the rebar, I swung as hard I could into the ground, only to have it ricochet back into my face. Other than the nice shiner, I got myself a concussion.
That put a damper on things.
Because it forced me to sit out of ministry for the rest of the month. Yeah, it really sucked, at least at first. I saw my personal team leave for a chance up north with Nathan, one of our host. I saw everyone else working and me laying there in the dark, alone.
I had a great experience with God a week earlier and was ready to start this month by hitting the ground running. I thought me and Him were on good terms and I was good to go.
But I hit the ground and I stopped.
God soon let me in on the fact that me and Him needed to talk some more and it took a concussion for me to listen. My mentor, Alissa, walked up to me a few days after the accident and handed eher Jesus Calling book for February 16 saying “This is for you, not me.” It said:
“Thank me for the conditions that are requiring you to be still. Do not spoil these quiet hours by wishing them away, waiting impatiently to be active again. Some of the greatest works in My Kingdom have been done from sick beds and prison cells. Instead of resenting the limitations of a weakened body, search for My way in the midst of these very circumstances. Limitations can be liberating when your strongest desire is living close to me. Quietness and trust enchanted your awareness of My Presence with you. Do not despise these simple ways of serving Me. Although you feel cut off from the activity of the world, your quiet trust makes a powerful statement in spiritual realms. My Strength and Power show themselves most effective in weakness.”
Alright God, I see you. The next two weeks were still hard to sit out of ministry but after talking to Scott about the lies of the enemy and how God has me here for a reason, the guilt vanished. It’s easy to look back on that month and realized that my time there was a time of spiritual growth that helped build a foundation for the rest of my Race. I built relationships with some of the women on my squad that would have not happened, right then, if I was not forced to stop and be still. I started projects I had not been able to start on the race and spent more time in prayer and in the Word than ever before and had some really good conversations with my squad, REAP workers, and God.
Nicaragua was an amazing, hard, and beautiful time and I can’t see what else God has in store for me and my squad on the race.
I hope you are all doing well and stay tuned for a Costa Rica blog!
Love y’all and God Bless!
